Jeff considered the possibility. The Chronivac had just enough charge to make a small change. He was honestly surprised that it had enough power after he had changed Irae from a feral Tyrannosaur to a sapient one earlier today. But would giving himself wings count as a small change? And even if it did, there would only be enough power to change one of them.
Jeff thought it over and found himself disagreeing with that idea. Even if the wings were temporary, it would probably cause too much of a hassle with his DNA and his clanmate’s memories. Moreover, it felt rather dishonest to him. While Jeff knew he needed as much of an advantage to survive in this world, he didn’t feel like he should be breaking the rules that badly. Putting wings on a strong Tyrannosaur body like his just screamed of an unfair advantage. There might not be anyone to judge him, but it would be like conjuring up an M-1 Abrams tank to fight in a War of Independence game. Certainly cool, but very unsporting.
No, if nothing else, Jeff had a sense of fair play. Being a strong Tyrannosaur is enough for now. Getting down the cliff won’t be easy, but he won’t resort to cheating to do it. There had to be some other way. Maybe if he shrank himself and the others, they could go down the path. But he might not have enough power to get them big again once at the bottom. Not to mention he wasn’t sure if he had enough power to shrink them all.
“Can we camp here?” asked Zark.
Jeff popped out of his pondering and asked, “What?”
“If we can’t get down before dark, let’s camp here,” said Zark.
Jeff looked up at the sky. It was past noon now. It would be some hours before it got dark. But this was proving to be a tougher puzzle than he thought. “If we’re not at the bottom before it’s dark, we’ll camp here,” said Jeff, “It’s as good a spot as any.”
“Better than that,” said Zark with a fierce grin, “Good hunting around here.”
“What hunting?” asked Jeff.
“Can’t you smell it?” asked Zark.
Jeff smelled the air. He could smell something, another dinosaur? No, this was different from the Edmontosaurus they hunted before. Jahff could tell this was the smell of the flyers. And by the smell of it, there were quite a lot of them. But then, it made sense. A tall cliff with a water supply would be a perfect dwelling for pterosaurs. If Jeff could down enough, they would have more than a meal. Their wing membranes would be perfect for making leather with them. Leather for straps would be better than just tying things together with vines. And that was the simplest thing Jeff could do.
Irae was also sniffing with interest now. She was hungry and she'll need more food as she got ready to lay her eggs. Jahff nodded before saying, "Drink your fill. Then we'll look for prey." Their method of drinking was understandably crude, namely cupping water in their hands and bringing it to their mouths. Jeff made a mental note to make some bowls later. There ought to be some gourds around here that he could use.
==========
The three Tyrannosaurs followed the edge of the cliff while keeping a safe distance from it. Jahff didn't blame Irae for being nervous about being up so high. Unless the pool at the base of the waterfall was particularly deep, a fall from the cliff would undoubtedly be fatal without wings. The smell of pterosaur grew stronger as they went. This flock (is 'flock' the right term?) seemingly felt no need to hide their nests, believing predators wouldn't get this high. The jungle parted to reveal rock formations, which would surely be a hindrance to any trying to enter. But Jahff could tell where to go, where there was just enough room for them to squeeze through. They gouged quite a few claw marks in the rocks as they went, which would make it easier to retrace their steps.
They soon approached a plateau which was surely where the main nest was. They circled until they were downwind of where their quarry was. But this close to the nest, Jahff was noticing a particular scent. This wasn't simply a flyer's nest. He also noticed crude carvings on the side of the plateau. When he peeked over the edge, his suspicions were confirmed.
This wasn't a flock of feral pterosaurs, this was a clan of sapient pterosaurs. Pteranodons to be specific. He could tell by their distinctive crests and how when their beaks were open, no teeth could be seen. Jeff recalled that Pteranodons were among the larger species of pterosaurs discovered. As such, it wasn’t much of a surprise that these sapient pteranodons weren’t that much smaller than his Tyrannosaurs. The adults seemed to have an average of about 8 feet, though he could spot a few who could be approaching 11, and that was without counting the crests. There were also several juveniles at various stages of growth, so this is a permanent nest for the Pteranodons.
“Well, this is more than a few flyers,” said Jeff.
“Too close to nest,” said Irae.
“Yeah, they won’t be happy about us moving in nearby,” said Zark, “We should get rid of them.”
“Wait,” said Jeff, “I’ve got a better idea.” Already a basic plan was forming in his head. ‘Learn the language of the flyers, gain their trust, breed with their women. And in time, their differences will be forgotten.’ It did sound a little silly and simplistic, but there were merits to it. Being flyers, the Pteranodons had smaller, slimmer bodies than the Tyrannosaurs, though not unappealing. Among the mature females, there were plenty of curvy, busty women. Though they couldn’t hold a candle to Irae. Gaining their trust would be a crucial step and Jeff had the basic idea of how to make the first step.
“It will not be easy, but we can co-exist.” Jeff drops their travel bag with gentleness unexpected of a Tyrannosaur, letting the contents spill out. Dried meat, fruits, and other gathered food tumble down in the pile, the Chronivac on top of it all. Jahff leans down to pick up the device, holding it just in case. Watching the Pteranodons, the leader of the Tyrannosaurs, Jahff, takes a step back from the food pile while guiding Zark and Irae back with him.
“We mean no harm, offering clean food for unity.” Jahff waits to see their reactions, keen eyes keeping track of every one of them. He ascertains the flyer clan’s reaction to the offering, seeing some accepting the offer while the older, wiser ones had suspicion in their eyes. “We only want to set up our clan by the water below.”
“You are an odd one for being such apex.” All three perk up to see an old Pteranodon, evidenced by his graying furs, wrinkled, and frail form. Jahff gave this elder flyer a respectful look. One didn’t survive to become old in this savage world by being soft and weak. “Why should we trust you?” asked the elder.
“Because I have big plans,” said Jahff, “Plans to make our clans bigger and stronger. And we would be stronger if we worked together.”
“What do you want from us?” asked one of the younger Pteranodons suspiciously.
“You’re flyers, are you not?” asked Jahff, “You can go places we can’t. You can scout far and wide. You can drop large rocks from high up. But yet, you are weak on the ground. Your nest would be in danger if another predator gets close. We can give you the strength you need to defend your home. We can hunt down prey that is bigger than what you can kill. This meat right here is from one of the duckbills. I bet you haven’t tasted something like this.” The term ‘duckbill’ was a particularly loose translation, considering ducks didn’t exist here. But the term was enough to identify the hadrosaurs.
There was a bit of confusion at the Tyrannosaur leader’s words. The flyers might have not realized the benefits of co-existence, but hearing the apex’s descriptions made them learn.
“Throw rocks from flight?” One of the younger Pteranodons parrots, though evidenced as a hunter due to his bigger body. He walks forwards in a challenge, long claws flexing in ire. “We do not need to do so.”
“Then you are a fool.” The elder rebukes without missing a beat. The youngun hisses at the elder, but the old Pteranodon’s scathing glare culls any more of his insubordination.
“You are wiser as if you’ve lived for as long as I did.” The elder walks closer to the food pile, no doubt to inspect the offering.
“We should strike,” Zark growls at Jahff quietly, ready to kill the elder and cause chaos in the nest, “Would make the entire nest into fear and we can dominate them.”
“No,” Jahff growls, side-eyeing Zark and holding him back with a threat in his muscular arms barring him from advancing. “As Alpha, we will co-exist.”
Irae only hugged Jahff as a means of showing the others that she was his, purring at his side. “Love mate.”
Jahff purrs in appreciation as a reply, looking at the elder crouching on the pile and taking one to taste.
“This meat is fresh but dry.” The elder speaks, swallowing the meat that he had detected no poison in. “What is this?”
“It is a technique I have developed,” Jahff claims proudly, walking close to the pile and nodding when the elder did not flinch back. “using “fire” and its “smoke”, the meat is cured and is made to last long.” Of course, the words “fire” and “smoke” were translated to them as “red flower” and “dark fog”.
“How long was this?” The elder inspected the food, noting its texture that belied its freshness. “It is unmarked by staleness.”
“About 2 days.” Jahff takes a small piece and swallowed it whole, smiling with his razor-sharp teeth. “And it will last longer than that.”
“Your wisdom is commendable, apex.” The elder stands up with a resolution, looking back at the nest with certainty. “We will accept your offering for peace. A powerful predator asking for peace is better than the opposite.”
Jahff could only smile. “I will second that.”